• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 6, 2011

Aegis Group, the parent of media services shops Carat, Isobar, Posterscope and Vizeum this morning confirmed speculation that it has entered talks to sell its marketing and media research division Synovate to Paris-based marketing researcher Ipsos, an also-ran in the global research marketplace to giants such as Nielsen Co., and WPP's TNS and Kantar units. The offer fueled renewed speculation in Europe's financial press that a "slimmed down" Aegis Group might finally go into play after divesting of Synovate.

Aegis, which reported much stronger results for its media services than its marketing research operations in its first-quarter earnings in May, is similar in structure to WPP in that it is bifurcated between advertising services agencies and marketing research operations. In recent years, WPP chief Martin Sorrell has indicated that research and insights might be a better area of growth for his organization than advertising services, but advertising generally has outpaced to growth of research during the global economic rebound.

Aegis, however, has prided itself on its strategic, research-based approach to advertising services, and has long touted the benefits of having two organizations - media and research - that could fuel synergy and growth.

In a statement released early this morning, Aegis' board confirmed that it is in "discussions with Ipsos in relation to a potential transaction regarding its market research business Synovate," but added that, "there can be no certainty that any agreement will be reached."

The financial press estimated that Synovate might fetch as much as $820 million in a sale to Ipsos, fueling speculation that the divestiture might trigger a takeover of a pure-play media-focused Aegis Group, most likely as a merger with Havas, which share a common largest shareholder, French financier Vincent Bollore. Both Havas and Aegis are also-rans to bigger agency holding companies like WPP, Publicis, Omnicom and Interpublic.